Indiscernibility and bundles in a structure

Philosophical Studies 151 (1):1-18 (2010)
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Abstract

The bundle theory is a theory about the internal constitution of individuals. It asserts that individuals are entirely composed of universals. Typically, bundle theorists augment their theory with a constitutional approach to individuation entailing the thesis ‘identity of constituents is a sufficient ground for numerical identity’ (CIT). But then the bundle theory runs afoul of Black’s duplication case—a world containing two indiscernible spheres. Here I propose and defend a new version of the bundle theory that denies ‘CIT’, and which instead conjoins it with a structural diversity thesis , according to which being separated by distance is a sufficient ground for numerical diversity. This version accommodates Black’s world as well as the three-spheres world —a world containing three indiscernible spheres, arranged as the vertices of an equilateral triangle. In this paper, I also criticize Rodriguez-Pereyra’s alternative attempt to defend the bundle theory against Black’s case and the case of the three-spheres world.

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Sun Demirli
Bogazici University

Citations of this work

The Rise of Relationals.F. A. Muller - 2015 - Mind 124 (493):201-237.
The Location of Properties.Nikk Effingham - 2015 - Noûs 49 (4):846-866.
Bundle theory and weak discernibility.Seungil Lee - 2023 - Analytic Philosophy 64 (3):197-210.
Bundles, Individuation and Indiscernibility.Matteo Morganti - 2011 - European Journal of Analytic Philosophy 7 (1):36-48.

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References found in this work

A World of States of Affairs.D. M. Armstrong - 1997 - New York: Cambridge University Press.
New work for a theory of universals.David K. Lewis - 1983 - Australasian Journal of Philosophy 61 (4):343-377.
Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits.Bertrand Russell - 1948 - London and New York: Routledge.
A World of States of Affairs.D. Armstrong - 1993 - Philosophical Perspectives 7:429-440.

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